Jesse Killion Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 This is my first post and have learned alot from all of the knowledge on here, thank you all very much. I picked up this #100 trenton a few months ago and slapped it on a stump stand that quickly turned to crap due to the stump being very old. A decent portion of the once flat bottom chunked and chipped off until it rocked and rolled, rendering itself rather useless. Over the weekend I made up this stand with a good friend from 2x12. I'm a fabricator by trade so i made the hammer rack and other pieces at work. I'm going to need to to a little reengineering of the hammer rack as the hammers just fall thru which is why the hammers are in the 2x12 offsets where I was planning on putting my tongs. Anyway here is a picture along with my little helper. Constructive feedback is always appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awrksmokey Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Looks good to me. That's a really cool use of the offset wood planks for a hammer rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 I though it was supposed to be that way with the hammers on the wood slots and tongs on the metal loop. Much fancier looking than mine which were made from scrapped oak 2x12's from the floor of a horse trailer held together by Utility pole bolts/fixtures. Clamped the boards together with pipe clamps and drilled with an electrician's extra long drill bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Killion Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 I originally intended for the hammers to be on the metal loops, but a slight oversight on my part has the tongs there now. I have yet to get any hammer time with the new stand so time will tell if I prefer my oversight or change to where I had intended the hammers to go. Hopefully I get lucky and have one of those Bob Ross moments.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 I think we've all been there, hammers need two parallel bars or rings, the handle needs to clear and the heads not. Using the offsets in the lumber is a more elegant solution. Besides the place to hang your tongs is where you're going to need to access them quickly, the forge. I put what water I have near the anvil under the wire shelf under my forge to help prevent dropped or brain farts dipping hot steel. It is however exactly the perfect place to cool tongs so they don't get too darned hot. I like coil spring or potato chain for my tongs, they're stronger and springier than mild so I can make them thinner and lighter without compromising strength and gription. Tell your helper Frosty says HI! You DO have PPE for him when he helps you at the anvil. RIGHT!? Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Killion Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 I agree with you Frosty, that the offsets are much more elegant looking, but the space can be limited a bit to get hammers side by side. For now the setup works well as my hammer "collection" is small. I always keep my water bucket a half step away to help remind myself to be dipping my tongs and tools in between heats. I've been using mostly mild steel or A36 as my tong material of preference, that is only due to what is on hand in the scrap bin at my full time job. And don't you worry about my helper, he has goggles and gloves when he wants to come swing hammers. I don't do the swinging while he's around, he just uses a little ball pein hammer that makes minimal noise so I'm not worried about his ears yet. I will certainly pass along the "HI!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 In my experience, the very best hammer stands are right next to your hammer hand when you address the anvil. Makes it easier to grab the hammer you want and -- perhaps even more importantly -- to put it away when you're done. I agree with Frosty that next to the forge is the best place to keep tongs. All that said, nice stand, and I hope it works well for you and your little helper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 For my coal forge travel set up I have an arc of 3/8" steel rod with the ends bent 90 deg so that they drop into the tops of the forge legs on one end of the forge. (Pipe in pipe sections welded to the forge with a large washer welded on the top.) In it I bent several full circle loops to have both a tong rack and a hammer rack close to the work area. Of course travel set-ups use a minimal kit of tools prechosen for the demo planned. For my shop I have access to tong and hammer racks and a tooling rack. Though I did make a couple of small loops to hold the hardy on the anvil stump handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Good for you on the PPE, the younger you start building good shop habits the better. That hammer head won't slip into the gap between boards will it? Hammers should lay nicely together perpendicular to the side. If they do want to jam, a narrow strip of steel on the inside top will prevent them falling into the space and hold them at a more handy height. Maybe. These are pretty minor tweaks for a first anvil stand, well done. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Killion Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 Thank you all for the kind replies. Frosty, the hammers sit... ok. I'm certainly going to need to spend a bit of time forging with this set up to see how I operate around the new stand, though i may end up redoing the looped area to put the hammers there, mentally that is where I'm leaning. The issue I'm running into with running the hammer heads perpendicular to the sides is the anvil feet block the ability to do that at a few of the offsets. Will definitely need some tweaks, fingers crossed they stay on the minor side. Thomas, JHCC part of my design of this set up is to have it be "semi-mobile". my forging area blocks in my "kids" 4 wheeler so i need to be able to move it all out of the way when they've earned a ride. Not at all the ideal set up, but it's the only set up I have at the moment. The more I think about the tongs at the forge, the more I very much like the idea, I may have to do some staring at that area and try and figure out a nice way of holding them there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 I like tongs pretty high, so you can see the bits; but when you go to grab a pair you automatically get the cool end of the reins. Of course I don't usually do a lot of quenching in my shop... My tong racks are made from old steel/iron wheelbarrow wheels stuck in/on a piece of pipe that goes to a base on the ground---all sourced from my local scrapyard. I recently built a 4th rack to go by the anvil and hold tongs currently in use on various projects. Made it extra high just for that reason---the bits of tongs currently in use are hot! (As I often work several projects at the same time I may have a variety of tongs and tools to hand.) Now making a trailer to carry all your stuff that hooks to a 4 wheeler sounds like the way to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Killion Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 Thomas, that is a good idea putting the tongs up higher to keep the warm bit end up. As I get closer to making a dedicated tong rack, that will be something I keep in mind. As for the 4 wheeler idea, offroad blacksmithing seems like the wave of the future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 I'll walk behinds you as you go over the bumps way too fast! Actually "campsite blacksmithing" can be a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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